tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257559067333970126.post1271079779826363081..comments2024-03-28T19:49:24.277-07:00Comments on Strange at Ecbatan: Old Bestseller Review: The Thief of Bagdad, by Achmed AbdullahRich Hortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07659613066689174738noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257559067333970126.post-19995847036456891282018-11-02T05:02:30.905-07:002018-11-02T05:02:30.905-07:00As for the casting -- there's note (or puff pi...As for the casting -- there's note (or puff piece) on the production of the movie published as an afterword to the novelization. In it, they talk about casting the Prince of the Mongols, emphasizing that such an important role needed a real actor. (Apparently the Prince of Persia and the Prince of India needed only "types".) They found a Shakespearean stage actor from Japan. I have a feeling both Mongolians and Japanese might be offended by the notion that a Japanese man was the perfect choice to play a Mongol. (The book, by the way, goes to some length emphasizing the racial differences between Mongols and Han Chinese.)Rich Hortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07659613066689174738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257559067333970126.post-78035219766079983452018-11-02T04:58:30.276-07:002018-11-02T04:58:30.276-07:00I did wonder whether novelizations were considered...I did wonder whether novelizations were considered ineligible for bestseller lists at the time. <br />Rich Hortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07659613066689174738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257559067333970126.post-73043511694231200842018-11-01T20:36:08.864-07:002018-11-01T20:36:08.864-07:00I'm startled you haven't seen either. The ...I'm startled you haven't seen either. The silent is excellent, though I'm always amused to think that if you're casting a film set in what becomes Iraq, of course the leads should be Douglas Fairbanks and Anna May Wong (both impressive, nonetheless). The Korda remake is even better, even if small bits and pieces of it are a bit stiff. <br /><br />I suspect that a novelization would've been kept off bestseller lists, particularly if not published by a heavily advertising publisher. The corruption of "bestseller" lists didn't begin with the NYT in the 1950s, after all.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.com